The Perfect Charade
by hudgens77
Summary: "Underneath beautiful flowers there are thorns. I couldn't help falling in love with what was under the rose. Do you get it, Black?"; "Yes, Father, I do." ...What if Sebastian was another member at Noah's Ark Circus? Baron Kelvin's favorite, actually. And what if his mission was finding Ciel Phantomhive? Until a little boy nicknamed 'Smile' interferes with his plans. SebCiel.
1. Chapter 1

**The Perfect Charade**

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**A/N: **_Hello! Well, I decided to write this story because I really enjoy the circus arc and I love Sebastian and Ciel so much. I'll made some changes to the plot, because of course, it's fanfiction lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think of this chapter with a review:)_

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Pairing: **Sebastian/Ciel, a little of Soma/Agni and William/Grell.

**Warnings: **Spoilers from the manga, sex in future chapters, violence.

* * *

The Phantomhive townhouse wasn't precisely Ciel's favorite place to live. It was a nice manor, yet it wasn't as big and beautiful as the actual Phantomhive residence which was located in the outskirts of London. But as the loyal Queen's watchdog, Ciel had no other option but to travel and stay there whenever there was a case he needed to solve. And now, it was one of those times.

"I can't believe we still have nothing!" The youngster cried out, clearly upset. Tanaka watched as his little master rubbed his temples and sighed in exhaustion. It had been a long day.

The old butler and the Earl had visited Frederick Abberline to get information about the missing children Queen Victoria had mentioned in her last letter, as well as the surroundings about Noah's Ark Circus. Of course, the few useful data they got hadn't been for _free_.

After that, they had gone to pay a visit to the Undertaker's. Another fruitless visit, one could say, since there were no corpses, no deaths, nothing. But at least it had given them a clue: the children were not dead… Yet.

So that left them with only one option: they'd have to go to the circus and examine it by themselves, much to Ciel's disdain.

Seeing as the boy wasn't in a very good mood –worse than normal, that was–, Tanaka had suggested they could go to the circus the next day so Ciel could rest, since it promised to be a tiring job. Oddly, his master had agreed without putting up much resistance.

"Young Master," Tanaka whispered once Ciel's ranting was over; "you should go to bed. You need to rest for tomorrow."

Ciel nodded, following his butler's wise advice. "Yeah. Let's go, Tanaka."

The adult smiled faintly and gave a respectful bow, following his little master as he stood up from his desk and approached the door, only to have it suddenly opened and slammed against the wall before he could even grab the doorknob.

"CIEL! How did it go today?" A boisterous, cheerful Indian teenager entered the office, followed by his faithful white-haired servant who smiled politely and greeted them quietly. The Indian prince approached the seething Earl and hugged him tightly, leaving him almost breathless.

"Let go! Soma! Let me go!" Ciel complained.

"But Ciel! You're never here, and when you are, you're always busy! You never have time to play with me!"

Ciel struggled to get away, and after several attempts, he was able to undo Soma's embrace.

"You!" Ciel glared. "Why do you always–?!"

Ciel stopped midsentence as he noticed Soma's eyes turning watery and his lips starting to wobble, obviously hurt due to his scolding. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to relax. The last thing he needed was to stop him from crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired, you see. I want to sleep."

Soma seemed to calm down with that explanation. "So today wasn't a good day?" He inquired.

"Not at all. We didn't get anything, so I guess we'll have to examine the circus first-hand tomorrow."

"A circus?!" Soma's face lit up. He turned around to glance at his butler. "Did you hear that, Agni? I've never been to a circus!"

"Oh no, absolutely _NOT_," Ciel exclaimed, visibly irritated. "Don't even _think_ about it!"

"But Ciel-"

"I said NO! You'd only cause trouble; besides, I just have two tickets the Queen sent me, enough for Tanaka and me only."

"I don't think that's really a problem," Soma replied; "Tomorrow at the circus we can buy two more tickets for Agni and me. Right, Agni?"

"Of course. That's not a problem at all," the Indian servant said kindly.

"Oh, but I refuse! You're an irresponsible lad who would only-"

"Young Master," Tanaka interfered, earning a glare from the child. "Pardon the interruption, but could we speak privately for a minute, please?"

Ciel stared at the old man as if he didn't understand what he was saying. After a while, he blinked, rather startled; and as the frown returned to his face, he said:

"Fine."

Tanaka beamed politely and followed his master out of the office, leaving the confused duo behind for a while.

"What is it, Tanaka?"

"Pardon me for interfering so rudely like that, but I think that Lord Soma and Mr. Agni going to the circus isn't such a bad idea after all, and I felt like I must tell you."

"What?!" Ciel spat. "What do you mean '_it isn't a bad idea_'?! They'd only cause a fuss and they won't let us investigate! They'd only ruin everything!"

"Young Master, as a butler, it is my obligation to assist you in every way possible, and that includes both giving you advice and protecting you," Tanaka stated prudently. "I agree that Lord Soma can be… A little difficult sometimes, but his butler, Mr. Agni, is a responsible person who can take care of him in case anything goes wrong. Besides, we don't really know what to expect of this circus; and if things turn out violently, I won't be able to protect you as well as before. I'm not getting any younger," he finished with a chuckle.

Ciel drew his hand to his chin, thinking. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew the old man was right. When his parents died and the manor was set on fire, Tanaka had been injured in the ordeal. Given his age, he hadn't been able to heal properly, but there he was, still capable of performing his daily duties as a butler. Nonetheless, that was not enough for dangerous missions like this one promised to be; and his other usually useless servants –Bardroy, Finnian and Mey-Rin– had stayed in the other mansion.

So Ciel could only expect that this case didn't turn out to be so terrible, or else, he would have to trust Agni's strength and skills. Even if it meant dealing with Soma.

"You're right about that," he said after a while. "I just hope they'll behave."

Tanaka laughed softly, opening the office door for his master to enter the room again. "I hope so too."

"Fine," Ciel snapped, glowering at the prince who looked at him with anxious eyes. "You're allowed to go with us. But don't cause any trouble!"

"YAY!" Soma shouted excitedly. "Did you hear that, Agni? We can go! Thanks Ciel, thank you!"

"Don't touch me so easily!" Ciel barked when Soma hugged him again. "Just remember that this is a mission, not a picnic! If you ruin anything, I swear I'll kill you with my own bare hands, and I'm _not_ kidding."

"Relax, Ciel. I promise!" Soma sang happily, one hand on his chest and raising the other, showing his palm. Agni bowed.

"Thanks for your generosity, Ciel Sir. You've made me and my Prince very happy," he stated respectfully. Ciel smirked.

"Now go," he told Soma. "Tomorrow will be a long day and I don't want my accomplices to be tired."

"Indeed! Good night, Ciel!"

"Good night, Ciel Sir, Sir Tanaka."

Both of them exited the room and the left duo could still hear their voices talking enthusiastically as they walked through the hall. "The circus, Agni! What is one supposed to wear there?" Was one of Soma's comments.

"Make sure you won't call too much the attention!" Ciel shouted from his office, hoping that Soma would still hear. He sighed, Soma probably wouldn't bother to listen to him. Oh, well.

Ciel ordered a few papers in his desk before turning to his faithful butler so he'd follow him to his room and prepare his bed to sleep. Just like he had said, the next day would be long.

* * *

Noah's Ark Circus was practically silent by those hours of the night, if it weren't for some low, graceful footsteps accompanied by a few more quiet noises.

As Joker walked here and there by all the tents, those soft noises drew his attention to the main tent. He walked in and met with a pair of mahogany eyes that belonged to the lone magician standing in the middle of the stage.

Joker grinned.

"Black. Don't cha think's a little too late to be 'ere?"

The black-haired, black-clad young man that honored his nickname gave a hint of a smile.

"I just want everything to be perfect for tomorrow, that's it."

"I see. It'll be. Ya worry too much."

"Perhaps," Black admitted with a perfect British accent. Educated. "But if we are having a special guest tomorrow, wouldn't you want everything to be flawless?"

"How can ya be so sure 'e'll come tomorrow? He can come any other day while we're stayin' in London. May as well not come and sent a servant or somethin'."

"Maybe. But I'd rather be prepared."

Joker chuckled.

"Whatev' ya say, Black. Yer performance's always perfect, anyways. Night," the redhead said goodbye and went out to his tent to sleep.

"Good night," Black answered. As soon as Joker left, the smile fell from his face. He sat down on the stands and thought about everything. Father had told him so much about him, and yet, Black had no pictures to know who he really was. He knew he was a child, a beautiful one; of course, he wouldn't have caught Father's attention if he wasn't. He also knew about his doomed family and about the job that weighed on them like a curse: The Queen's watchdog.

And he also was certain that Noah's Ark Circus had already caught his attention, as well as the missing children thing. He had no proof whatsoever, but he was sure. There was a feeling in his stomach telling him so. He was coming soon, and Black had to be prepared.

He sighed. What Joker had said was true, he was an expert at everything he did. Magic and optical illusions were one of the easiest, dullest things for him, since he could do things much more elaborated than that. The reason why he was stuck with magic, though, was that they didn't have a magician before in the circus and all of the other acts were already taken.

Black recited one of the 'spells' he was going to do the next day. Sometimes, he really wished he could make everything disappear.

* * *

His permanent smile wouldn't show it, but Soma was more fragile than he looked. A common inquiry in his mind was always…

_What do others think of me?_

Ciel had called him irresponsible the night before. It had been practically a miracle that he'd agreed to let him go to the circus. Soma was happy; however, he was also afraid to do something that could disappoint Ciel. He wanted to show him that he could be mature!

"Prince. Is there something the matter?" Agni's sweet, masculine voice got him out of his thoughts.

"Not really," Soma lied.

"You've been very quiet for a while."

"Have I?" He feigned a laugh. "I'm sorry. I was… Thinking."

"I see."

Agni always knew and respected when Soma didn't want to talk about something that was troubling him, and now it was one of those times.

The prince sighed. There was something about Agni's presence that always made him feel… Safe. Maybe it was his warmth, or the sound of his heartbeat, or the feeling of his arms around him… Maybe it was the brush of his nose and lips against his hair as they lay sitting comfortably in one of the armchairs of the lounge; he didn't know. He let his head fall on his butler's shoulder, and Agni ruffled his hair affectionately until a faint smile tugged at his lips.

However, their little moment was interrupted when a cloaked boy appeared in the lounge, accompanied by his old butler. As soon as they met with them, the couple broke away. It wasn't like Ciel and Tanaka didn't know about them, but it was still embarrassing.

A slight flush bloomed in Ciel's cheeks at the sight greeting him, and he felt like he'd interrupted a private moment. He looked away, replacing his look of surprise for his habitual scowl, and commented:

"I must admit, I wasn't expecting you to be ready early. Anyway, it's time to go."

And with that, Ciel made his way towards the door with Tanaka behind him.

Soma grinned. So far, this was going good. He stood from the sofa and Agni did too. The men followed after the child, got into the carriage and in their way to Noah's Ark Circus.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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**A/N: **Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm sorry if it's a bit shorty but they'll be getting longer as the story goes on (I hope XD) Well, enjoy!:)

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Warnings: **None for this chapter.

* * *

It looked like a normal place. Colorful, big and crowded –the typical image of a circus. And yet, there was something about the place that made Ciel feel strangely uneasy.

The four men sat down on the stands: first it was Ciel, then Tanaka at his right side and Soma at his left. Agni was the last one, sitting at his master's left. The place was almost full, but they were lucky enough to find good places.

After a little while, the lights went off and a single spotlight started travelling throughout the chattering audience. It stopped its journey when a single figure came into the stage, focusing in him only.

It was a young man. He was dressed in all kinds of colors and had ginger hair pointing in all directions, merely kept under control by some hairpins. What was unusual about him, though, wasn't any of this, but his right arm.

It was bones only.

"Welcome to the Noah's Ark Circus! My name is Joker," the young man introduced himself as he juggled with several balls. "If you'll look here… Whoops!"

All of a sudden and purposely, the balls fell and hit his head. The audience giggled and he smiled; he liked to hear people laugh.

"Ahem!" He continued, "The whole circus is jostling for a chance to give you a fun show!"

It was when Ciel noticed that the whole crew was now accompanying the clown-like man. And so, the show began.

First, there was this big and strong man who ate fire. Next, there were two expert kids at the trapeze. When their act ended, there came a knife-thrower with excellent aim. By that point, Ciel had realized and stressed to Tanaka the fact that there was no music or anything outstanding about the performances. He was beginning to think that his suspicions about this place were merely a coincidence.

A tightrope walker came into view for the following act, introduced as "the princess of the circus". She was dressed purely in white and her attire was adorned by tons of flowers that brought out her beauty. She looked like a little angel, the perfect embodiment of innocence.

On the next act, there was a snake man. Nothing out of the ordinary, Ciel kept thinking; nonetheless, Soma and Agni seemed to disagree, for they started speaking frantically in Hindi during the whole act. Maybe because it reminded them a little of their home, Ciel assumed.

Joker reappeared on the stage when the snake man's performance had ended. He introduced the last act's performers: a magician whom he called "Black" and his "beautiful assistant", as he'd said.

The woman showed first. She was beautiful, indeed. Maybe a little exotic, but gorgeous nonetheless: she was all dressed in red and her hair matched her clothes too. It was very, very long and it looked silky to the touch. She was flat-chested and thin, and yet she possessed a grace that made up for her little flaws and made anyone look at her more than once.

She prepared everything for the act quickly. When she finished, the magician finally showed up. He was wearing a cloak and a hat the color of his name, making him look mysterious. By the way he walked, he moved, it was obvious that he also was graced with that poise… Very similar to magic.

The young magician started his act with the classic trick of letting animals out of his hat. However, the kinds of animals that he released were extremely uncommon, even disturbing: crows, bats and black cats filled the tent in a matter of seconds. People shrieked in fear and disgust. Ciel only hissed; worrying about his allergies, but he didn't have to dwell on it for long, because in a matter of seconds the black-clad man made all the animals vanish with a click of his fingers.

When the crowd calmed down again, the man asked for a volunteer. For some reason or another, Ciel couldn't help being intrigued. There was something abnormal, dark, and extremely _interesting _about this man to be safe. He almost felt the need of raising his hand to participate, but he was too hesitant and a young lady in the first line beat him to it.

The lady was enthusiastic and pretty, and it reminded Ciel of Elizabeth. He regretted thinking that, however, when the magician asked her to lie down with his assistant's help and cut her in half.

"Whaaaaa..?!" He couldn't help gasping like the rest of the public. This man had to be a sadist or something, because he'd never stopped smiling evilly at his own actions. And yet, with one or two words that Ciel couldn't understand, the girl went back to normal and she stood up in one piece, all smiles and awe.

Deafening applauses filled the place.

The magician bowed and then vanished; he literally vanished in front of everyone, gaining more exclamations from the public. Joker appeared after that, making Ciel feel disappointed. _What a shame… This was finally starting to get fun_, he thought.

The clown-like man thanked the audience for their attention and stated in the middle of some bad jokes that he hoped everyone had had fun. Almost all the people laughed and clapped, except for the little earl. Now the show was over without any other surprise and he'd realized he still had no clues, his already bitter mood had worsened.

No sooner had Joker ended his final speech Ciel was already heading for the exit. "Let's get out of here," was all he said.

Tanaka walked after him and Soma and Agni followed, exchanging worried glances. Ciel's aura was scary.

The duo was quickly left behind. Both stared in amazement at the eccentric people around them –the circus performers–, the tents, the wagons and the animals as they talked softly in their native language; when suddenly, the noise of an elephant followed by a squeal at their backs caught their attention.

They turned around and met with the sight of a young woman sitting on the ground, rubbing her nape and her legs sprawled on the floor. She'd fallen.

In front of her, there was the elephant they'd heard, standing on two legs and trumpeting madly; clearly upset. The woman backed down, fearing it would attack her. And yet, she seemed to pluck up courage from God knows where and took the whip lying next to her, raising it to attack the elephant.

"Hey!" Soma shouted, approaching them. Agni did too. The purple-haired young man walked slowly towards the animal, trying not to scare it and beckoning it to calm down. Meanwhile, Agni had stopped the woman from hurting the animal by grabbing her hand just in time. When the elephant realized it wasn't going to be attacked, it relaxed and returned to stand in its four legs. Soma easily got confident and started to caress its trunk and whisper soft, soothing words in its ear.

"What you think you doin'? Lemme go!" The woman barked at Agni, squirming as he did what she said.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Are you okay?" He asked gently, immune to her rough treatment. She had a black, curly mane adorned with a hairband. Her eyes were crimson red and her attire was a little too… Revealing, showing her beautiful figure. Nonetheless, what really caught Agni's attention was the hallmark that rested on one of her legs, visible due to the position she was in. And… Was that a doll-like limb?

"What you starin' at?" She roared, making Agni blush and avert his eyes right away. He helped her to stand up.

"Sorry."

"You should treat her better, don't you think?" Soma told the woman, still stroking the elephant. She raised an eyebrow.

"Her?"

"Yeah. Hurting her won't work."

Her, again. How did he know so easily? Did this guy know about animals?

"Beast!" A cheerful voice was heard, and it was followed by the appearance of the clown-like man from before. What was his name? Joker, or something like that…

"What you doin' with these gentlemen?" He inquired, a bright smile in his face.

"Joker," she blushed and realized that she was still standing a little too close to Agni. She gave a few steps away. "Sorry. Malaya got outta control, and these guys helped me."

"Malaya? What a beautiful name you have," Soma said tenderly. It seemed as if she had already grown fond of him and vice versa. "You remind me of home."

Joker's eyes widened. "Home?"

Soma flustered as he'd realized what he had said. "Of course. In my… _Home_," –palace–, "there were tons of… _Pets_. I guess you can say I love animals."

"I see," the grin returned to Joker's face as he glanced at the white-haired man that now was caressing Malaya as well, a look of affection in his face. "I take ya love animals too."

Agni nodded.

"Well then… What you guys think 'bout a job offer?"

"What?" Soma and Agni replied with surprise.

"Joker!" The woman, whose nickname was apparently 'Beast', exclaimed. "What're you thinking?!"

He shrugged. "Why not? They'd be good help, trainin' and takin' care of the animals. So," Joker's amethyst eyes went from Beast to the pair again; "What d'you think?"

The duo exchanged glances between them, not knowing what to answer. It wasn't like they were experts about animals, but they were certainly a little bit more experienced in the subject than other people. Plus, they didn't really need a job. Still, if they accepted, it meant that they would be in the circus and would have more chance to investigate and help Ciel; and in the end, that was what they wanted the most. So, without even needing to ask for time to discuss all the pros and cons and as if they were able to read each other's minds, they stared back at Joker and exclaimed:

"Sure!"

Joker beamed his brightest beam. "Awesom'! Lemme show you around!"

"Umm…" Agni spoke. "I'm afraid we can't stay today. We have to inform our… Master."

Technically, he wasn't lying. Ciel had left them in charge of the townhouse manor, so that made him sort of their 'master', if you looked at it that way.

Joker gave them a puzzled look. "So.."

"We were planning on quitting anyway," Soma added quickly, playing along as he understood what Agni was doing; "and this would be perfect for us, so we can start tomorrow if you want."

"Oh, I see," –another beam. "Come back tomorrow, then. Yer always welcome."

"Excuse me," Agni said, trying to invent a lie to include Ciel in this. After all, he was the mastermind behind solving the case. "I was wondering… There's a boy in the manor we work for, he's the littlest of us… But he's really agile and energetic, I think he might like working here."

Well, he'd probably gone too far. Ciel wouldn't be very happy about this, but it was the only plausible excuse Agni could find. He knew the boy liked taking care of things himself, especially if they involved the Queen's orders.

Joker seemed convinced with the explanation, because his face lit up.

"Really? Then why don't you bring him tomorrow? We'll make 'im an entrance test, and if he passes, 'e can be part of the circus too. We love seein' new faces."

Beast's expression contradicted Joker's words, but she didn't say anything.

"Thank you," Soma said, though it was more to Agni for making up such a good story.

"Welcome. See ya," the redhead added and walked away. Beast, on the other side, lingered there for a few seconds more to dedicate them an intense glare.

"Umm…" Soma thought about something to say, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the woman walked after Joker with her arms folded, clearly giving them the cold shoulder.

Soma glanced at Agni and shrugged. They walked away to meet with a raging Ciel who demanded what had taken them so long and they both sighed, preparing themselves for whatever the reaction the teen could have. This would be hard to explain.

What a pity, because if Joker and Beast had stayed a little longer, they would have been able to watch the meeting of the recently hired strangers with a little, moody earl; his old butler and the opulent carriage that would head them back home.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing._

**Warnings:**_ I think none for this chapter as well._

* * *

"That's great! I didn't really think you'd be able to do it!"

"Thank you," Ciel seethed.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir!" Agni apologized frenetically, earning a glare from the boy.

"Don't call me that!" He hissed, rubbing his buttocks to ease the pain. "Someone can hear you!"

Ciel had already passed two parts of the entrance test —with a little help from Agni and Soma, of course. First, it was throwing knives. Soma had come up with the idea of throwing pebbles at the knives so they could reach the target, since Ciel hadn't had enough strength in his arms. With Agni's excellent aiming, it was a piece of cake.

The second part was a tad more difficult, though: tightrope walking.

Ciel would've fallen if it hadn't been for the pebbles Agni threw at his body to keep him in balance. He didn't like the idea of hurting him, but it was the only way to do it right.

Apparently, Ciel wasn't happy about it, too.

Dagger was still patting his hair cheerfully as Ciel sulked with restrained rage when Joker's voice called their attention again.

"The boy hasn't done something real important," he announced in a matter-of-fact tone. Ciel gave him a calculating look. Just what else could be missing?

Flying?

"…A big ol' smile!" He chanted happily. Ciel's face turned into a complete expression of horror as Joker continued saying, "C'mon, smile~!"

_What?!_

Was he really supposed to do _that_?

Because in all honestly, flying would've been easier.

He tried to compose himself and ignore everyone's stares and Soma's not too discrete giggles. God, even Agni seemed to be enjoying himself.

As he realized Joker wasn't kidding, he took a deep breath. _Come on, it'll be just a second_, a voice in his head said. So, even when Ciel knew that he was going to make a fool of himself, he let the corners of his lips rise in a fake gesture of glee. It was hard, his cheeks were stiff and he didn't know if it looked genuine —he was probably grimacing, for he had forgotten how to smile with true happiness.

And yet, it worked.

Everyone there was charmed with the smile and they started complimenting him and suggesting that he should smile more often, because he looked even cuter (pff, and why would he care about that?). He was starting to feel uncomfortable with all those people around him when Joker interceded and guided him and his friends to a place where they could change. Agni and Soma were lucky: since they were not part of the actual performers, they could stay with their normal clothes.

Ciel couldn't.

Ugh. How much he hated this.

He was supposed to wear some bulky, royal-blue shorts with straps and asymmetrical fringes at both sides; a long sleeved, striped shirt with collar frills; a black vest, a blue hat with a big feather as well as mismatched stockings with garters and boots, and a purple ribbon around his neck. He looked ridiculous, he thought as Agni helped him dress, but the others didn't seem to think that. "Cute," was being a constant comment about him during the last few hours, and Ciel was getting tired of it.

When they finished helping Ciel, they met with Joker and a crowd of the circus members. The redhead grinned as he saw them and beckoned for them to get close.

"Everyone," he announced as they joined up, "From today on, we have some new friends. Newcomers, Soma and Agni; also, this one is 'Smile'!"

Ciel's face went from annoyance to complete shock. At his side, Soma and Agni tried to stifle a laugh.

"W-what? Why am I the only one who's got a nickname?!" He asked with dread.

Joker gave him a look like he didn't understand the question. "Yer not satisfied, _Smile_?"

"Er…" Ciel averted his gaze, blushing. "It's not what I meant. I don't think it's fair for me to have that _cool_ nickname when my friends don't…"

Next to him, the giggles subsided.

"Oh, I see!" Joker chuckled happily. "You shouldn't worry 'bout that, Smile. 'Course we thought 'bout 'em too. Agni 'nd Soma are both names of Indian deities, that's why I chose to keep 'em like that. They're powerful names."

"I see," the boy whispered with dismay. Not only he was the only one bearing a name, it had to be the most _stupid_ nickname in the whole world. And his idiotic friends were still making fun of him.

He couldn't blame them, actually. If they were on his place, he'd probably done the same thing. Yet, he was Ciel Phantomhive, and he couldn't stand being a mockery. He seethed as he felt how his dignity was slowly being trampled with every minute he was under that tent, and he swore to himself that when this mission was over, he would have no mercy on them.

Agni elbowed Soma discretely to stop him from laughing when he became aware of the boy's sour mood, though he himself couldn't help the little smile tugging at his lips.

"Hey," Joker called his attention, making Ciel look up and stare at the people surrounding him. His new mates. "C'mon Smile, smile!"

"…Nice to meet you," The teen said unenthusiastically.

* * *

A black figure walked through the crowd of dressed up people. He stopped as he met with a man in a pretty red dress. God, he _did_ look like a woman —it was confusing sometimes, and yet, he was the person he trusted the most in that wicked circus…

"What's all this fuss about?" Black asked as he poked the redhead's shoulder.

"Ahh, Sebas-chan~!" The man chanted happily as he turned around to meet him and grabbed his arm possessively.

"I've told you a million times not to call me by that hideous nickname, Grell," Sebastian said bitterly as he moved away.

"Why not? You still call me by my name, so I don't see why that should be a problem. Besides, 'Black' is so boring, I hate that name!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, knowing that it was a lost cause. "Anyway, you haven't answered my question. Why's everyone gathered around here?"

"Oh, that's because of the newbies."

"Newbies? What are you talking about?"

Grell's eyebrows knitted. "Didn't Joker tell you? I thought he usually consulted you about this stuff."

"No, he didn't," Sebastian grimaced.

"…He invited two guys to join yesterday to help Beast train the animals. Those two, over there," Grell informed, pointing at them in front of the crowd. Sebastian raised his eyes to see two dark-skinned young adults talking between them. Foreigners. Most precisely, they were Indian, if he wasn't mistaken. It wasn't uncommon to find people like them during that time in England.

"I see," Sebastian whispered, scrutinizing the strangers. There was a little figure next to them. It was a boy. He was so tiny and short, it was almost comical. However, there was one blatant detail about him that immediately caught anyone's attention, and it was the black eye-patch covering his right eye.

"What about the kid?" Sebastian questioned.

"Oh, I don't know much about him. I think those two brought him with them. Joker called him 'Smile'," Grell added.

Sebastian eyed the boy once again. He was cute, but there was something else about him… It wasn't the eye-patch anymore, but something else, something he couldn't quite place. It was kind of unnerving.

The million-dollar question finally struck his mind: _Could this be the Earl of Phantomhive?_

No, no, it couldn't be, right? He shouldn't judge people so quickly. Investigating or sending servants were one thing, but entering to the circus was taking it to the other level… No one, not to mention a _nobleman_, would like to join a place like this. It was completely out of question.

And yet, he couldn't help feeling suspicious about it. He made his way through the rest of the crowd, forgetting Grell behind him who started whining, and went right away with Joker.

"What is this, Joker?" He interrupted.

Ciel's eyes widened as he recognized the person in front of him. Of course, how could he have forgotten him? He was the magician from the day before!

"Black! So glad yer 'ere to meet our new friends…" Joker stated keenly. Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I see that," he retorted bitterly. "What I wanted to know, though, was who gave you permission to hire them."

"Oh, c'mon. These guys are amazin'! These ones 'ere were able to stop Malaya's tantrum yesterday without hittin' her," he placed each one of his hands on Agni's and Soma's shoulder. Then he gestured Ciel and ruffled his hair, "'N this little one here's pretty skillful at knife-throwing and tightrope walking, don't let that skinny frame fool ya~!"

"…Yes. But you're not the one to choose them. You're not the ringleader."

Joker smirked slyly.

"May I remind you, Black… _Neither are you_."

"You're not the ringleader?" Ciel interfered, aghast. If these men, who seemed so very influential weren't actually the ringleaders… Then who could it be?

Both men looked at him. Ciel didn't like the way Black stared at him: it was like he suspected him already. Joker, on the other hand, looked as friendly as ever.

"No, my lil' friend," the redhead answered, messing his hair once more. Sebastian's eyes narrowed even more. "I'm a bit like a hired shop manager… The ringleader's a different scary guy. Black and I are in charge of the circus while he's not 'ere."

"Yes," Sebastian hissed with bile, "We _both_ are."

"Oh, c'mon, don't be so mean! I'm sorry," Joker chuckled airily. "Geez, sometimes Beast 'n you are so alike."

"That's because you trust people so easily."

Joker shrugged. "Maybe, but does that mean they can stay?"

Sebastian glanced at him, then at the child and then at the duo behind him, whispering between them in a language he didn't understand. As he examined them carefully, he realized that they looked kind of naïve. The little boy should be too, maybe… After all, what could a one-eyed child do? He was letting his paranoia take over him.

Sebastian pursed his lips. He didn't like not being ignored for decisions like that, but he supposed there was no danger in letting them stay after all.

_But this boy… He's just…_

Sebastian sighed and turned his back on them, leaving proudly when he said:

"Fine."

"Blimey!" Joker exclaimed at Ciel. "So c'mon, I'll now take you on a quick tour to the backstage area. Follow me," Joker indicated and they did as he said.

He showed them the tents of the newcomers and workers, also known as the 'second-tier members'. The tents were really small and two or three people shared each one. Both Soma and Ciel looked as if they didn't like what they were seeing. After all, they were used to all kinds of luxuries. Soma murmured something in Hindi and Agni just gave him a comforting smile and a shrug. The prince sighed.

Joker didn't seem to notice the disenchantment of his companion as he continued talking. He also showed them the store-room, the first aid tent, and the main cast's private tent. This captured Ciel's attention, and Joker explained him that you could get a private room only if you were really good and became a first-tier member, as well as explained some other benefits. He emphasized to be careful with Snake's tent, since there were poisonous snakes roaming there freely.

"…By the way," the redhead said after a short silence. "What happened to your right eye, Smile?"

"Eh?" Ciel gasped, drawing his hand to his eye-patch involuntarily. He wasn't expecting the sudden question. "Ah… This is… There was an accident…"

It seemed that Joker mistook Ciel's dumbfounded babbling for indisposition to talk about the subject and not for being taken by surprise, because his gaze softened and he cupped his cheek tenderly as he tried to comfort him:

"Is that so. So young, but you've been through a lot," and then he smiled reassuringly, patting his head. Ciel did nothing but stare in astonishment. "Everyone here's been through something, so you'll get along well with 'em… Oh, and now we're touching the subject… I'm sorry 'bout Black, y'know. He may look cold, but he's kind after all. He's just got a hard time trustin' new people, but I think you'll get along just fine."

"I see," Ciel murmured under his breath. "So, what happened to him?"

Joker blinked. "What d'you mean, Smile?"

"...You said everyone here's been through something, and you also said Black's got a hard time trusting people. Well, something must have happened to him for him to act that way," he reasoned.

Joker seemed to be taken aback by Ciel's speech and the seriousness it held despite coming from a boy his age. Well, Ciel was talking on experience. This man, he seemed intelligent and incredibly talented. Ciel both liked and disliked him at the same time, as contradictory as that may sound. He disliked his pride and the way he'd looked down on them from the very beginning, but he also liked the fact that he seemed like a difficult opponent. Even if he wasn't going to admit it, he reminded him of himself. And even if that meant he might be a nuisance to get rid of, Ciel couldn't help the excitement it gave him.

He loved the thrill.

"Oh, 's not my business to talk about that. Maybe if you get to know 'im he'd like to tell you som'day."

Ciel hummed, a tad disappointed.

"Y'know," Joker continued, "most of the first-tier members're all from the same hometown. We're all childhood friends; 'cept for Black, Red Death 'n Snake. But they've proven to be really good at what they do, so they quickly became first-tier's."

"Really?" Now it was Soma who asked, "And do you become a first-tier member?"

Joker shrugged.

"Can't say there's really a way. You'll just have to do yer best!"

They kept walking and entered one of the tents. Once inside, they finally stopped.

"Right, this's the practice tent."

It was huge, and there were lots of people. Trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, jugglers, ballerinas, acrobats, etcetera. The trio stared in amazement at the wonderful performers as Joker gave them some advices, and then—

"Joker! It's almost your turn!" A feminine, angered voice shout. Everyone turned to look at her: it was the tamer, Beast. She cast a glare at the Indian duo. "And you two, what are you waiting for? Come with me so I can show you the animals," she bit out.

They exchanged glances and then looked at Ciel, not knowing if they should leave him alone. The boy whispered he'd be okay, so they ended up leaving him.

Now lonely, Ciel stood there not knowing what to do. He certainly wasn't going to practice, not after the entrance test fiasco. There were still bruises on his body.

He sat down and started stretching though, just to give the appearance that he was actually doing something. He started thinking of the children as he tried to touch the tips of his feet. Where could they be hidden? He hadn't noticed anything out of normal. Sure, he hadn't searched carefully yet, but the circus didn't seem precisely suspicious. As he got absorbed in his thoughts, suddenly…

"Hey! Don't stretch so sluggishly, Smile!" Dagger appeared in front of him. Ciel frowned, not now.

He stood up and stared at him. Dagger wore an immense grin. "First, you gotta decide your program. What're you hoping for?"

"I—"

"Dagger," a voice interrupted them. "Leave him to me."

A black-clad man made his appearance at the tent. It was 'Black', the magician.

"Black! Weren't you busy practicing?"

"I've already finished," Black said, and his cold gaze landed in Ciel. He almost shivered. "I'll work with this kid. Why don't you go practice with the other newbie?"

Dagger shrugged, and his grin never left his face. "Alright! Smile, yer about to learn from the best!"

Ciel raised an eyebrow. Another newcomer? Did he mean Soma, or Agni? No, it couldn't be, they were with Beast…

"…So, what can you do?"

Ciel turned to meet Black's gaze. He shrugged trying to pretend being indifferent, though there was an awkward sensation in his stomach that told him that this wasn't going right. He wasn't actually good at anything that involved acrobatics or things like that and now he couldn't rely on Soma and Agni's help, so he needed to make up an excuse now.

"I don't know, but Dagger said I had to choose my routine first, so I can't—"

"Why don't we see what you're good at?" Black said, folding his arms. He towered over Ciel, and honestly, he was quite the imposing figure, but that didn't stop Ciel from responding impatiently:

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're gonna do everything I tell you to until we find out how you can help."

"That's not fair at all!" The teen snapped, terrified. "That'd be like doing _another_ test. I already proved I was able to be here."

"That's right, to _be_ here. However, that doesn't mean you can _stay_. We can't give us the luxury of feeding useless people. Anyway, what are you worrying about? If you were able to pass the entrance test then this won't be hard for you either."

Ciel swallowed, feeling himself going pale. "But I… I don't..—"

"I knew you cheated, but I didn't think it'd be so easy to catch you," the older male sneered, walking around Ciel. The latter felt his heart skip a beat, his mind racing as he digested Black's words.

"…The pebble trick, wasn't it?" At the boy's expression, Sebastian's mocking grin broadened. "I knew it. I gotta give some credit to your friends, though. It's not an easy one —I used it to get Grell into the circus."

"Y-you can't prove that," Ciel stammered. How did he know? He hadn't even been there during the test!

"Can't I?" Sebastian said defiantly, drawing his hand to his pocket and placing a pebble in Ciel's open palm.

The teen blanched even more, if possible.

"There were many of them when you left. I thought I'd show Joker, but where's the fun in that? I'd rather see you suffer," he finished with a sadistic smile that gave Ciel the chills.

"So, let's start. Prove me why you should stay, _Smile_."

Ciel took a deep breath. This didn't promise to be easy at all, and he didn't know how, but he was going to do it. Nobody ever challenged the Earl of Phantomhive and got out of it victorious.

And there were no exceptions.

* * *

_To be continued..._

**A/N:** _So, tell me how was it! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :D_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

**A/N: **Ahh, sorry for the hiatus! It's been what, four, five months? I'm sorry, but I've been terribly busy. I'm about to enter college, so I've been doing exams and such to enter a good university... Oh, but I'll stop rambling about my life and just say that I'll try to update more often:) I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if there's any doubt, please tell me! I don't bite:)

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Kuro, sadly I don't.

**Warnings:** Hints of SebaCiel, Grelliam. Sebastian being a cunt.

* * *

Ciel wheezed and panted, hands and knees on the ground as he tried to catch his breath. Black had him do everything: tightrope walking and throwing knives (again), but also juggling, balancing on big balls, jumping on the trampoline, etc. The worst part of it was that he wouldn't let it go until Ciel got it at least, more or less right; since he said he was "_feeling generous_". God, if that was generous, Ciel didn't want to know what he was like when he was being cruel.

It had been the last straw when Black asked him to jump through a ring on fire: (_"I'm not gonna do that! You want me to burn alive, don't you?"_) And Black only chuckled, not even trying to deny it, but he left the matter alone.

And now, Ciel only wanted to rest, but he had to wait for this man's verdict and hope that this was all over… Oh, he should've known better for the way Black was smiling.

"Your level of stamina leaves much to be desired," he pointed out, earning a glare from the exhausted boy.

"Well, what did you expect? I'm pretty sure no one can do all those things without ending up drained," he said between gaps.

"I can," Black shrugged.

Ciel retorted something Sebastian couldn't understand, but he let it go. Watching him struggle was a good payback.

"Now, stand up," he said. "We're not finished yet."

"What?!" Ciel did as he was told, but mostly due to impression. He followed the man, for he was already walking away. "Just what else are you putting me through? I already did everything that can be done here!"

"Not really. Now shut up and do as I tell you, or do I need to remind you that your stay here depends on _me_?" Black's voice dripped self-satisfaction. It was obvious he was rejoicing in the fact that he had the control, and Ciel couldn't do anything but seethe about it. They walked through the tent until they finally reached the base of a trapeze. Black started climbing one of the ladders and Ciel blanched, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What is this?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"A trapeze," Black said, rolling his eyes and speaking like he was dealing with a stupid person. "Now go, climb the other ladder."

"B-But..." Ciel recoiled a few steps and gulped audibly. Tightrope walking had been one thing, but swinging and making all kinds of somersaults in the air was something completely different. Not to mention, there was no lifeline here.

"Oh. Are you scared?"

Ciel wasn't as stupid as to fall for that obvious, cliché bait. He glowered at the man.

"I'm not scared of anything," he said.

"Good," Sebastian nodded, climbing a few steps more. "Then prove it."

Well, damn it. Ciel wasn't going to let this guy think he was weak. He was going to demonstrate him that he could do whatever he wanted to do, and much better than him. He growled something unintelligible and sank his nails deep into his palms; walked to the other ladder and started climbing.

Sebastian hummed as reached the end of the ladder and waited for the boy.

"You're too slow," he declared when Ciel reached the end of the other ladder, causing him to make a 'tch' sound. _"Don't be rude, don't be rude,"_ the little earl tried to remind himself not to retort.

"Listen carefully. You're gonna repeat everything I do now, okay?"

Ciel nodded curtly, thus Sebastian proceeded to take the bar of the trapeze and took a little impulse. He swayed in the air perfectly; Ciel couldn't help gaping as he started with the acrobatics and somersaults. The way his body moved made everything look like it didn't require any energy; how he let himself go, as if gravity was the one that was making all the work, but at the same looking so graceful…

He looked like a crow, flying freely in the skies, navigating them, like a sinfully perfect dark angel…

"Did you see it?"

…And then it was over.

Ciel blushed when he realized he'd been staring dumbly. He wished Black hadn't noticed, but by the way he was smirking Ciel knew he had. He nodded curtly.

"Repeat it." No sooner had Black finished the sentence, Ciel had already closed his eyes tightly, taken the trapeze and let himself go without the slightest idea of how he was going to do this. The sooner he finished with it, the better. He just hoped gravity was at his side.

He was ashamed for the little noise that left his mouth his feet were not touching the floor anymore. He opened his eyes, something he regretted immediately. He was flying so high, and if he fell it would be a certain death or at least a terribly painful incident he didn't want to experience. His hands were starting to feel sweaty (_"Oh no, not now, _please_, not now,"_ he thought), and his arms numb and tickling. He'd never been physically strong, and his frail limbs were already at its limit. Panicking, he tried to hold on, but his fingers started slipping little by little and he closed his eyes, hoping in vain that the fall wouldn't be too painful when, inevitably, he fell.

He could feel himself plummeting. It was like he'd left his stomach up there. He couldn't breathe well, let alone scream no matter how hard he tried; but it wasn't like screaming would be of any help. One or two tears left his eyes due to all the sensations and physical circumstances he was experimenting at the moment, and as he understood that he could never prepare himself for the final impact, it came.

He hit something hard, although not as hard as he had imagined. His body bounced a bit, but nothing else happened. He'd expected something much more dramatic —hearing his bones cracking like cookies, feeling the blood being sprayed on the floor like some kind of sinister work of art, the life seeping out from him like a plague. End up like Humpty Dumpty. And even though he didn't like life that much, he couldn't lie to himself: he was actually scared of death, like any other human being is or maybe even more. However, as he opened his eyes and met Black's (closer than it would be comfortable) he understood.

Black had caught him. Ciel was lying in his arms like a bride in his groom's would be as they leave the church. He didn't know how, or _why_ he'd caught him when the black-haired man had left clear he didn't like him that much to start with. And when the hell had he come down? Well, he was fast —but Ciel actually felt thankful.

He closed his eye once again and leaned into Sebastian's chest without really realizing what he was doing. He inhaled his scent heavily: it was nice, actually; and it helped to soothe Ciel a little. He could already feel the adrenaline wearing off and leaving him drained, the sweat covering his body —_eww_. He touched his face, his body to confirm that _he was there_, and this wasn't a nightmare or a hallucination caused by the pain.

It wasn't.

"Seriously," it was Black's voice, and it didn't sound like he'd make any effort at all. If only, there was a little hint of bewilderment, but nothing else. Ciel's eye opened again. "What the hell were you doing? You could have died."

Ciel's heart was fluttering quickly in his chest, in his throat, and pounding in his ears. He was struggling to get air, and tried to calm himself in order to prevent an asthma attack. _Breathe in, breathe out_.

Somehow, he couldn't find his voice. It was better this way, he thought, his thoughts didn't make much sense anyway. Not enough to form a sentence, so he just stared at his savior for a few seconds more. Now that he looked at him carefully, he could see he resembled his father a bit. They both had those soft but firm features; those conspicuous eyes that understood everything and that kind but cold smile that made everyone feel a false sense of trust.

He squeezed his eye shut and dismissed those thoughts. It was just bullshit, anyway. Remembering his father, _comparing_ his father wouldn't help with this mission at all.

When he finally felt like he was able to speak again, he mumbled hoarsely:

"Thank you."

Black let a little smile tug at his lips. "Well, if I couldn't handle something like that, what kind of performer would I be?"

Ciel rolled his eyes at his arrogance, but didn't respond.

"...Are you able to stand?" the noirette asked, his voice serious this time. The youngster blushed furiously as he realized the position they were still in.

"I-I think so," he whispered nervously.

Black sighed, placing the teen on the ground carefully, as if he were a delicate doll. It only made Ciel more impatient. He tried to free himself from the man's protective touch and almost fell as he noticed his knees were still too weak. Luckily, Sebastian caught his wrist before he touched the ground.

Ciel snapped his hand away once he was firm on the ground. "W-what are you doing?! Don't treat me like a child."

Black cocked an eyebrow behind him as Ciel started walking away. "But you're a child."

The boy glared at him and Sebastian just smiled with mirth, following him.

"By the way, you can call me Sebastian…" the young man announced with a sigh. "We're gonna have to get used to each other, since we have a long way to go with your training…"

Ciel's eyes were wide and his face went pale as he turned to face the performer once more, dread written all over his features. "Y-you mean it wasn't just for today?!"

Sebastian snorted. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though. "Of course not, kid. I'll be your coach until you excel at everything you do here."

"What if I don't want to?" Ciel defied him.

Scarlet eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Did you ever hear me asking for an opinion?"

"Tch. You're not my father, you know," Ciel hissed, amusing Sebastian even more; but he chose to ignore the man's smug grin. He should have known better, that this sadist would try to control and torture him for the time he was there. Anyway, he'd think of a solution later. He was exhausted to keep arguing and just wanted to go to bed. "...So, where am I gonna sleep?"

Sebastian shrugged. "It's not me who decides that. Let's go with the others to see," he pointed with his head at the other direction of the tent, where a crowd was gathering. Ciel nodded. Excited whispers and exclamations made themselves present as they approached the group of people.

"...Wow, that's amazin'!"

"He's just awesom'."

"But what is he holdin' there?"

Sebastian frowned. "Dagger, what's going on here?"

"Black! We've got another super-newbie," the blond chanted happily as he pointed up at a man walking on the tightrope and balancing with a long stick with clippers at its ends. "He was some sorta government worker and he's totally serious, see. Hey, come down for a second, Suit!" Dagger called him.

"What the hell is that?!" Sebastian asked with dread as the man threw the weapon at him. He barely dodged it.

The unknown man then jumped from the heights and landed on his legs perfectly, stretching a hand to Sebastian. "William T. Spears, nice to meet you."

"Black," Sebastian said, accepting the hand reluctantly. "...And what is that?!"

William adjusted his glasses with the clippers of his weapon. "This is my death scythe. I'm a grim reaper."

"…"

"Give it up, forehead!" Dagger exploded of laughter all of a sudden, smacking him playfully on said part. "You said it with such a straight face, I couldn't tell you were joking!" then he looked at Sebastian, "He's been doin' this for a while now. Stuff like 'how about this soul…' —He's a real hardcore occult fan!"

"Though they're not actually jokes," William clarified.

"...Riiiiight," Sebastian answered. He didn't know who was crazier, but he was definitely keeping an eye on this man.

"This small friend 'ere is Smile, and the big one is Black, as you already know," Dagger introduced them officially; "Well, bond over yor hopes and get along well!"

"...Where's Joker?" Sebastian asked Dagger.

"Oh, he's comin' soon. He was sorting out the room assignments since you were busy."

"I see. Thank you."

Dagger nodded perkily and Ciel let himself fall on the floor with a sigh. He was barely able to stand.

...And where were Agni and Soma?

Like he had summoned them with just thinking about them, they appeared with Joker and Beast. They seemed to be getting along fine, except for the girl, who was scowling. Aside of that, Ciel mentally thanked that these guys were friendly. It could be helpful sometimes.

"Thanks for waiting," Joker announced as all the newcomers gathered. "It's time for the new arrivals' room assignments. Huh.. Smile's not very cheerful," Joker noticed Ciel's aura as he saw him sitting down on the floor, with Black behind him staring at him blankly. "Smile, Smile!"

"Y-yes," Ciel answered, flustered.

Joker winked at him and continued. "For fairness, these're the results of a lottery. Smile's in tent 8. Here's your roommate," he said as he introduced him with a smiley boy. His hair was brown and his fringe covered his left eye. His visible eye was blue and his face was covered with freckles. He wore simple, loose clothes.

Ciel couldn't help his disappointment as he found out he was having a roommate. The boy seemed nice and everything, but that meant that discussing with his accomplices would be tougher.

"Agni and Soma are in tent 9."

The trio exchanged shocked glances between them. "Whaa… Wait, Joker, does that mean that Smile and we aren't together?!"

"Hmm.. No, sorry. Actually, your roommate is Suit," Joker informed, but then giggled reassuringly. "Well, this is your chance to make new friends!"

"B-but…" Ciel started.

"It's nice to meet you, Smile!" the freckled boy sang happily. Ciel looked down.

"…Yeah…" he said weakly.

Soma raised a brow, looking at his new roommate. "…So, what's that thing you're carrying around?"

"A death scythe. I'm a grim reaper."

* * *

"Hey, can I take the top bunk?" Ciel's roommate, whose nickname was Freckles, asked Ciel as he was already climbing the ladder to the bed. Not like Ciel minded, actually. In fact, he disliked climbing, and he didn't think his body could take any physical effort anymore.

"Go ahead. I think I prefer the bottom anyways."

"S'been on my mind for a while," the auburn looked at Ciel from the bed; "You speak some pretty fancy upper class English, don'tcha?"

"_Pardon_?" Ciel answered involuntarily, as if to stress that fact to his roommate. When he realized his mistake, he added nervously: "R-really? It's probably because I'd been working in a house since I was little…"

"Blimey. Anyhoo, you just gimme a shout if there's somethin' you ain't ettin'! There's a long life of circus ahead of you!" Freckles offered as he searched for something within his bag. Apparently, he found it, because he turned to Ciel with some candies in his hand and offered them to him. "Oh, righ', wanna 'ave some sweets? Them's from the popular Funtom Company! What'd you like, caramel, milk, or strawberry-flavored?"

"Well, um… I'll take caramel," the teen faked a smile as he thought how frustrating his day had been, and it seemed he wouldn't even be able to go to the other tents. He accepted the sweet and thought how ironic was consuming his own products.

He'd barely made himself comfortable in the bed when sleep was already pulling him down. He didn't even mind —didn't even recognize— the mattress was too hard for his liking. The last thing he thought was that the following day promised to be incredibly tiring as well, and he hoped this would be a long night of rest as he drifted off to slumber.

* * *

His new roommates were probably at their newly assigned tent. Their names were Soma and Agni. They were a little noisy, but William didn't really mind them as long as they wouldn't interfere with his job.

He was walking to the tent as well as giving the circus a quick inspection. At least on the surface, it didn't look like there was something bad about it. It was silent since it was kind of late already and most of the performers should be resting by then. The death god was musing about all of that when he suddenly stumbled with a redhead that had been —literally— kicked out of one of the tents (_"Ahh, Sebas-chan, you didn't have to be so mean!"_). Will's glasses fell when he did too, and he lost his vision. His death scythe made a _clash_ sound next to him. He could only distinguish a mass of red and heard the loud cry the person beneath him let out when he fell over him.

"My glasses… Where are my glasses?" William searched desperately for them, touching the ground in order to find them. He heard a little giggle and felt when someone put them on the bridge of his nose.

"My, my, you're really blind without them, aren't you, handsome?"

Everything cleared then and Will was able to see the pretty face just millimeters away from him. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the stranger's bright green irises, but he wasn't wearing glasses, and Will didn't know that another death god had been assigned that mission already, nor did he know this ma…

Wait a minute, weren't all death gods supposed to be _male_?

"Ahh, but why have I not seen you around? I thought I knew all the attractive men here!" the redhead exclaimed as he clung to Will's shoulder. William, recovering from his shock, shoved him away. Grell fell to the ground and groaned, but as he stood up to remove the dust from his clothes and call for that man that had caught his attention _("Oh, darling, I love that you're so cold to me!"_), he had already disappeared into the night.

* * *

William didn't sleep in the circus that night. Instead, he visited the Death God's library and searched for the redhead's record.

Grell Sutcliff. Twenty-five years, human. Born male, mentally female. And the reason of his striking green eyes, death god-like, was none other than he was supposed to become a death god when he died.

And William found himself too interested in him.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**A/N: **Aaaand the plot thickens! This chapter is longer. I hope you enjoy, and leave me a review to tell me what you think:)

**Disclaimer:** No, I still don't own Kuro.

**Warnings:** Mentions of trauma, a bit of cursing.

* * *

The next day, just as Ciel predicted, was terribly tiring. Not only did he have to wake up early and dress himself —which was harder than he'd ever thought—, but also Freckles, his roommate, told him that the newbies had to prepare breakfast. Wonderful, really. Ciel had to carry a heavy wooden bucket with lots of potatoes in it, and after that he was told to peel them. Agni and Soma were God knows where, for they hadn't shown any signs of their presence so far. So Ciel was on his own to do the hard work he wasn't used to do.

Unfortunately, his blatant inexperience showed and Freckles berated him after he'd peeled excessively the potatoes, leaving them as thin as a wafer. But it was too late, because Ciel had peeled most of them already.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized frenetically as he noticed Freckles dismay.

"My, my. What's going on here?"

"Black!" Freckles squealed. Ciel went completely pale. _Not him, not now please_, he thought bitterly. The man was accompanied by the redhead who _apparently_ was a male. How ironic.

"Smile peeled the potatoes wrong. Dunno what we're gonna eat now…"

"I see," Sebastian said, holding what was left of a potato in his hand and inspecting it. "How clumsy of him."

"Hey! Don't speak of me like I'm not here!" Ciel reproached.

"Anyway, 'tis my fault. Guess I shoulda paid more attention to him," Freckles interceded, feeling a bit guilty.

"No, it was his fault and he should assume his responsibility for it," Sebastian said coldly. Ciel frowned, the dislike was mutual, but he still had no reason to speak of him like that. He didn't even know him! Why didn't he leave him alone for good?!

"Well, I guess I shall deep fry them as they are into crisps and make them into fish and chips," Sebastian offered.

"Cor! I love those!" Freckles exclaimed excitedly.

"Ah, Sebas-chan! You're always so intelligent!" the annoying redhead said.

"Of course I am. Someone's got to solve this mess."

Ugh. Why did he have to be so arrogant? Really, Ciel was starting to hate this man so much…

"And you, Smile. You're helping me. You've got to learn from your mistakes," Sebastian finished.

"I… All right," Ciel grumbled as the man shot him a deadly glare. He returned it, but decided it would be better to work along and finish with this as soon as possible.

"I'll help ya too," Freckles offered. Ciel inwardly thanked him for doing so. He certainly didn't want to be all alone with him. Freckles placed his hand on Ciel's shoulder in a comforting gesture as Sebastian started preparing everything they'd need to cook.

He shook the clinging redhead away and started explaining them —rather explaining Ciel, though, since he was the only one who got the accusing stares from the man every once in a while. The redhead (whose name was… Grell?) tried to flirt every now and then only to be rejected. Freckles giggled. And Ciel… Well, Ciel seethed every time Sebastian asked him to hand him or do something and made a comment on how slow or useless he was.

"Then do it yourself!" he snapped in the end. Grell and Freckles fell silent.

"And what do you think I'm doing?" Sebastian replied, never losing his temper. He didn't even look at him, like frying potatoes was far more interesting than talking to any of them —especially Ciel. "Honestly. I don't know why I requested your help. You're just making me lose my time."

"Well, I didn't ask for this either!"

"Black, I think yer bein' a little tough on Smile… I mean, he's just a newbie—"

"Keep out of it, Freckles. He's gotta learn his lesson."

"Sebas-chan—"

"Black," Joker arrived just in time. "Ya busy?"

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh, looking at the cooking team.

"Kind of. Is something the matter?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I need to talk to you… 'S kinda urgent. D'you think they can handle this on their own?"

Sebastian shrugged. "Don't know. Can they?" he looked at them, a raised eyebrow.

"Of course we can. We don't need you," Ciel snarled with poison, showing his bare teeth like a mad animal. Was he trembling with rage? Joker seemed startled at the obvious tension in the air.

"Smile…"

"He means we'll be okay! Right, Red Death?" Freckles interceded, faking a giggle.

"Huh? Ah, of course! Don't you worry, handsome~!" Grell played along overenthusiastically, but it seemed their little show worked, because Joker grinned.

"'Kay. See, they're fine. Shall we go now?"

Sebastian and Ciel were still glaring at each other, but it seemed the attempt of the others alleviated the tension at least a bit. Sebastian turned on his heel with a huff and left with Joker.

"Certainly. Just do what I taught you, and probably the tent won't get on fire."

"Haha. Yer always so funny, Black!" Freckles exclaimed as the duo disappeared from their sight and then exhaled a breath of relief.

"Uff. Hey, quit that expression. He's already left."

Ciel hadn't noticed how hard he was clenching his teeth or how deep his nails were sinking in his palms due to rage; but he tried to relax. "S-Sorry. It's just… I hate that man!"

"I know he was a little mean to you, but…"

"Haa…" Grell sighed loudly, making both Ciel and Freckles to look at him. He was already beginning to cook the fish. "You know, he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes… But he's got his reasons. He's a good friend, deep down."

"Hmph," Ciel hissed incredulously. "If you say so."

"No, really. I mean it. It's just… He doesn't trust people that easily, that's why he prefers working on his own. It took him years for him to trust me, and he still hides things away from me. And keep in mind that I've known him for ages."

"Really?" Freckles asked. "I see, that's why you're really good friends! But how d'you know each other?"

Ciel didn't want to admit it, and he wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was actually interested in hearing that story. Joker had said something alike about Sebastian, just what could have happened to him? What could he be hiding? If someone knew about suffering, that was Ciel.

"Oh," Grell mouthed as Freckles and Ciel helped him too. "You want to hear that story? Alright, but promise me you won't tell Sebas-chan I told you. He wouldn't want people finding out about his past…"

"I swear!"

"Me too," Ciel whispered, crossing his fingers. Freckles and Grell didn't notice for they were busy cooking.

"Good. Well, er… Sebas-chan.. He comes from a noble family. Oh, don't make that face, it was kinda obvious, don't you think?" Grell said at contemplating the surprised expressions from the duo. Now that Ciel thought about it, the man (if he could be called that way) was right. Sebastian possessed that demeanor of a nobleman, mostly evident in his way of speaking compared to the other members of the circus.

"My family, the Sutcliffs, weren't noble, but pretty rich nonetheless." Grell went on. "The Michaelis —Sebastian's family— and the Sutcliffs were on pretty good terms due to our fathers. They were friends because they went to the same school, Weston College or something like that. Mr. Michaelis owned a company, and my father was his right hand. That was why I met Sebby. I really wanted to be his friend since the first time I saw him, but eventually I grew to not care about him because we were completely opposite and he always ignored me. It was until his mother died..."

"His mother died?!" Freckles interrupted, shocked. Ciel didn't say anything, but he stopped chopping the meat to glance at Grell.

"Oh, I didn't mention that, did I?" he giggled with sadness. "Yes, his mother died when he was very young. I think he was about ten, maybe eleven."

"Oh.. That sucks. Poor Black..." Freckles said sympathetically, looking at the ground. Ciel frowned. He hated when people acted like they understood the pain of someone they didn't really know.

"Heh, but that's not it," Grell continued. "It was on the funeral when we became friends. I remember feeling sorry for him, he looked so damn sad… I went and gave him a hug. It was the first time he didn't reject me," he sighed, looking away, and Ciel watched him with attention. It was like he was lost in the memory, but suddenly he remembered he was actually telling a story and he glanced up, shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyway, things just got worst for the Michaelis once the Lady died. Both Sebas-chan and Mr. Michaelis loved her very much, and her loss caused tension between father and son. I never understood why, but they didn't seem to like each other."

"After that, Mr. Michaelis lost himself in gambling and drinking, and eventually lost all of his money. Sebby... He just spent his time in the library or in the gardens, I guess to forget his problems. Sometimes we visited them."

Grell made a pause to breathe, and then his face contorted in a displeased grimace, like he didn't like whatever he was thinking about. He finally exhaled:

"My father, that despicable human being... The only reason we visited them was because he was worried about the business. If the company broke, he'd end up jobless and that meant no more luxuries for us anymore. I knew his intentions and I still hate how I never told him how egoist he was being, but I actually liked those visits, because it meant I could spend more time with my Sebas-chan."

"But no amount of talk could convince Mr. Michaelis. He was far too deep into the hole, he had completely lost himself. He was a living shell, until one day it finally happened. After two years of his wife's demise, Mr. Michaelis killed himself. His body was found in his bedroom with a gun at his side and his blood all over the sheets of his bed and the floor. But I didn't care about that. What I cared about was to see how Sebby was doing."

There was another pause, and for a minute everything was in silence as Freckles and Ciel just waited for Grell to continue, not knowing what to say. Finally, Grell went on.

"I remember the night of the funeral very clearly. I remember people's comments regarding the 'terrible tragedy' and the 'poor little orphan'. But Sebby stood there in front of his father's coffin in a very regal way, never showing any kind of emotion. Of course, the minute I saw him, I ran and hugged him. I even shed some tears. I was worried about him: he had no family, no money, nothing. And yet, he said he was okay."

Grell sighed. "The next morning, Sebas-chan wasn't there anymore. He'd run away. A wise decision, I think now. Sebby didn't want to be put in an orphanage, so he ran before they could get him. I still don't know how he managed to, but I'm kinda glad he did."

"Of course, back then I wasn't. I'd lost a very dear friend, my only friend, and I felt terribly lonely. Mr. Michaelis demise and his son's disappearance actually benefited my family. My father became boss of the company and it eventually recovered with the hard work he put in it and the investments he made. I was wealthier, I could go to more parties and meet new people, but I was still alone. I missed him so much. He was the only one who understood me and no matter how much he insulted me sometimes, I knew he didn't mean anything, because he was always by my side. He never asked me to change."

"Years passed by. I learned to socialize and to behave the way society wanted me to. I still missed Sebastian, but I tried to move on. I gave him for dead. When I turned sixteen, though, was the last straw. My parents told me I was marrying some girl. I don't even remember her name by now," Grell giggled.

"I probably should've seen that one coming, but I didn't. I was so deep into my world I never noticed their intentions when they introduced me to ladies and such. But that was the night I snapped. I told them everything I thought about them: how egoist and abhorrent they were. They'd never cared about me or anyone, they only acted on their benefit. I hated them. We screamed terrible things at each other, and I ended up running away from the house. I got drunk and I slept with the first handsome man I found, heh," Grell couldn't hide his blush, but a cat-like grin climbed onto his face, like he was talking about a good memory. Freckles was staring at him with something close to admiration, and Ciel didn't know why. He couldn't be redder. How could Grell be speaking of that kind of things so openly?

"…My parents caught us and they kicked me out of the house, saying that I was a big disappointment for the family and that I was gonna burn in hell. Ha."

"Though I must admit, I was certainly not expecting that. I thought they'd be offended, of course, but too worried about the scandal it'd cause to disinherit their only child and kick him out of the house forever. I kinda had the hope that they'd scold me or ground me forever, but they'd release me from the engagement. I thought that when their wrath was calmed, they'd be able to understand me better. Pff, now I notice how naïve I was," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "Of course, those soulless people would never be able to understand someone except for themselves."

"But what happened with Black? How did you meet again?" Ciel inquired, making both Grell and Freckles to turn and see him. The redhead smirked; he didn't think Smile would be interested in the story at all. Ciel averted his eyes, dammit, he should've had sounded more casual.

"Oh. Sorry, I missed the point. Didn't think you'd want to know more about him, though," Ciel blushed, and Grell only gave a snicker and threw a strand of hair back. "Ha, don't worry boy, it's no big deal. Anyway, after running away, I spent some months living on the streets, doing whatever I could to get through the days. It was until one day that I tried to steal some handicapped brat who was missing an arm —who turned out to be Joker— that I met Sebastian again. He was defending Joker, but he was the same Sebastian I once knew, unless, this time, he was called '_Black_'."

"Sebastian recognized me immediately and we cleared up the misunderstanding. He introduced me to Joker and he easily admitted me into his crew. Then I met you guys, and we founded this circus, and I guess that's pretty much it," Grell finished with a sincere smile.

"I do remember that. The first time I saw you I thought you were so weird, with all your red hair and such!" Freckles exclaimed with excitement, eyes bright. "But it was even weirder than Black, the quietest and the newest in the group had found a friend. I was happy to hear 'bout it."

"Haha. You know, I kinda like this place. I mean, it's nothing fancy, but I can be myself here…"

Ciel cleared his throat, focusing the attention on him once more.

"I'm sorry, but you said you found Sebastian again a very long while after he'd sneaked away. If that's so… What happened to him in those four years you didn't see him? Was he with Joker and you guys all that time?"

Freckles shrugged. "Probably. I don't quite recall that, y'know? I was little."

Grell shook his head and shrugged too. "Well, I don't really know. Sebby never talks too much about that time."

"What?! But you said you were his friend…" Ciel started.

"…And I also said he still doesn't tell me some stuff. Although..." he looked away, "I think I have a clue. Anyway, I'm not telling you anything else. Let's get this stuff done."

"But… Ah—!" Ciel let out a little complain when he slid the knife without any care and cut the palm of his right hand open. The knife fell with a _clank_ on the ground and Ciel drew his hand to his chest.

"Smile, you're bleeding!" Freckles yelled, taking Ciel's fist and examining it. The red liquid was pooling quickly and dripping from his palm onto the floor already.

"It's nothing—"

"C'mon, let's go with Doc," Freckles ordered, grabbing his wrist and dragging him. "He'll treat that wound."

"I said it's nothing that serious—" Ciel insisted, but it was futile, for Freckles wasn't listening.

"Red Death, take care of ev'rything whilst I take Smile to Doc's."

"Huh?!" Grell snapped. "You're leaving me alone?!"

"'Tis practically done! Now Smile, follow me."

"But—"

"Sebas-chan!" Ciel heard Grell scream right behind him with glee, and for once, he thanked Freckles for being so bossy. The last thing he wanted was for that man to see him wounded after a simple task he'd asked them. He'd surely scold him or even worst, make fun of him. So he followed after his roommate without protesting any more.

* * *

"There's nothing to worry about. The wound will heal in a few days," Doc reassured them with that soothing, wise tone of his.

"I see," Freckles muttered, turning to the boy. "Sorry Smile, I freaked out."

"Do be more careful, Smile. Alright?" Doctor added. Ciel averted his eyes, suddenly ashamed for being so delicate.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

Freckles smiled at him sympathetically and they left Doc's to go with Grell again, when…

"Smiiiile!" Soma came running and shouting towards him, followed by a concerned-looking Agni. "What happened?! We heard you were with Doc, are you okay?"

"Yes. I accidentally cut my hand while cooking, but I'm fine. Anyway, who told you that? And where have you been all day? I haven't seen you anywhere."

"We were eating, and we didn't see you," Agni said before Soma could start making fun of him for being so clumsy. "We asked Red Death and Black about you, because Joker told us you were in charge of the food. Red Death told us you and Freckles were with Doc. We were worried that anything bad had happened to you."

"Is that so. Well, I'm fine, so there's nothing to worry about, but—"

"Hurry up, Smile!" Freckles interrupted, tugging at his sleeve. "Let's go have lunch, or else there'll be nothin' left!"

Ciel sighed as he noticed his impatient roommate, and then glanced at Soma and Agni, who were staring at him with puzzled expressions. Ciel wanted a word with them to know if something had happened, and maybe later he wouldn't get the chance…

"Head on. I'll be there in a minute," he pointed out, hoping he wouldn't be too insisting. And luckily, Freckles wasn't, for he beamed at him and went away without any other question.

"'Kay! I'll save a seat for you!"

Ciel watched him until he was out of sight and then he let out a relieved breath, before his expression soured into a scowl.

"We're have you been all day?"

"Sorry. They showed and introduced us all the animals. Even Snake's friends. This is amazing, Ciel!" Soma said excitedly. He looked like a little kid, but then… This was Soma, he always looked childish.

"We also had to feed them. And we're bathing him after our break, so it's probably taking us all day long. We hope that's not a problem," Agni added, apologizing. Ciel seemed to ponder the information for a minute.

"Hmm... Not really. In my position, I can't do much either with all this work, so I don't blame you."

"So what are we gonna do?" Soma inquired.

"Hmm," Ciel brushed his chin with his fingers. "I was thinking about checking the troupe's tents to find out if they're hiding something. We'll just have to wait till tonight's show, maybe then they'll be distracted enough so we can move around freely. What do you think?"

Soma and Agni smirked at the same time.

"Well… Count with us, Ciel sir."

Ciel mirrored the expression.

"See you till the night, then."

* * *

Ciel reached his roommate at the table, his plate terribly full. Freckles ate incredibly fast, making Ciel wonder where the boy had so much space and how could he be so slim. Freckles looked at him, swallowing as Ciel sat down in front of him and flashing him a grin.

"Smile! You took much time. I think the meat's already o'er, but don't worry 'cause I can share with you. You're skin 'n bones and so tiny, so eat up and grow some!" he chanted cheerfully as he put some food in his roommate's plate. Ciel would've considered it a mockery if he didn't know Freckles by now, so he paid no mind; but still pouted as he called him tiny.

"Thank you very much..."

The food was actually good.

Really good, and he didn't want to admit it, but it was thanks to Sebastian. If he hadn't come up with the idea of making potato chips and cooking fish as well as telling them what to do before we went with Joker, there wouldn't be anything to eat. Besides, Ciel was pretty sure that when he saw him as he left with Freckles to Doc's, Sebastian had done a little bit more than help Grell serving. Perhaps he even had seasoned the food a bit more before it was ready.

It didn't take Freckles a lot of time to finish his meal. Ciel wasn't nearly done when the other boy stood from the table and said it was time to practice, so he had no other option but to follow him. He wondered if he could maybe skip practice by using his wounded hand as an excuse; however, it seemed Freckles had already thought about it, for Ciel wouldn't need to grasp anything: they balanced on some enormous balls, Ciel failing miserably.

After Freckles berating him and asking where his balance had gone, he said it was time for a shower.

"Huh?" Ciel's face brightened up immediately, his eyes shone. "There are showers?"

"Yeah, there are!"

So they went there.

Honestly, it wasn't like Ciel was expecting something fancy. He wasn't expecting a vast bathtub with aromatic salts or someone who would bathe him...

"Shower is this?!"

…But he certainly was expecting more than what he was seeing. Out in the open there was part of the troupe, washing themselves shamelessly with buckets filled with water. What kind of water, Ciel didn't want to know.

"Hey, strip down! I'll wash your back."

And there was this Freckles boy, who seemed always so enthusiastic and a little, just a little too much bossy sometimes. Ciel; of course, complained, but Freckles insisted. The little earl tried to discourage him, but it didn't work as Freckled was starting to get touchy in order to help Ciel, who obviously recoiled. They ended up stumbling with one of the buckets of water and finally fell on the floor, completely soaked with freezing water. Freckles complained, but it wasn't exactly a scold towards Smile. Ciel was inwardly thankful, thinking the incident had washed away Freckles' desire to help him, but he was wrong; because he kept insisting for Ciel to strip, and as he pressed for it, he tried to take off Ciel's shirt.

Ciel squirmed and firmly pleaded to him to stay away. But Freckles didn't listen, and before Ciel could do anything to avoid it, he had already lifted his shirt arguing that he was going to catch a cold; and exposed his slave mark.

He heard an audible gasp behind him.

Ciel could already feel all the stares on them. A sudden feeling of repulsion made his stomach churn.

The taste of humiliation was bitter.

"Let go of me!"

Before Freckles could regain his composure and start trying to apologize, Ciel had already gotten to his feet and ran away.

"Smile!"

Too focused in his thoughts, Ciel didn't notice the pair of scarlet eyes watching the scene.

Why? Why, of all people, did he have to live all this tragedy? Why could he never have peace? He was Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of Phantomhive, the Queen's Watchdog... For God's sake! He shouldn't be feeling like this! This ashamed, this humiliated. Damn that freckled boy. Damn this circus. Damn everything. Damn everyone!

He sat and curled up in the floor, trying to forget everything or at least trying to calm himself down. Damn, how he hated this place! He just wanted to go home where everything would be quiet and he'd have all he needed, all he was used to within the reach of his hand.

"My, my. What do we have here?"

Ciel shot his head upwards and met with Sebastian's imposing form; looking down at him with that smirk on his face that Ciel found annoying.

"What do you want?!" he roared, eyebrows furrowing deeply. Sebastian sighed and stretched his hand towards him, offering him help.

"Are you going to stay there all day?"

Ciel's eye widened in surprise and he looked at the ground. However, he did accept his help. It was Sebastian's fault that he always made him think the worst of him.

"T-Thank you."

"You're welcome," was the toneless response. "Now, let's get you out of those clothes."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're going to catch a cold if you don't dry yourself quickly. So, let me help you..."

"I don't need your help," Ciel gave a few steps back angrily as Sebastian stretched out his hand to reach for him. "And why would you help me? You've made pretty clear the fact that you don't like me."

The young adult blinked, startled, as if he didn't understand what Ciel was talking about. "I don't, just as much as you don't like me either," Sebastian stated honestly; "but I'm trying to be mature about this. We're living in the same place; we're supposed to be a team. At least that's what's Joker says all the time, so c'mon."

Ciel sighed, taking the towel Sebastian was carrying and wrapping himself in it. He asked himself if Joker really had some influence in Sebastian's actions right now... Perhaps when they'd talked Joker had asked Sebastian not to be so hard on him. Or maybe it just was a lie to cover Sebastian's noble intentions... After all, everyone was supposed to have a nice side, right? Well, whatever the reason was, it would be good for him to make peace with that man, at least for now while he tried to keep this charade. He didn't need enemies for free.

"Thank you," Ah, the towel was warm. "And I'm sorry about the food before."

"I'm sorry too. For everything."

Sebastian was beaming, but his smile looked genuine this time. Kind. So Ciel couldn't help the tiniest trace of smile that crossed his lips, too.

"Well then, let me help you dry yourself," Sebastian offered. Ciel shook his head. Whilst it was good they were at a truce for now, it didn't mean he trust him yet.

"I can do it myself, but thanks again."

Sebastian sighed for the umpteenth time.

"I expected you to say that. But I insist..."

Sebastian knelt down in front of him, trying to help him. Not only was he trying to be polite as he had said. Surely, that was a part of everything; however, his curiosity had been spiked at what had happened before. He wanted to see what Freckles had seen; he wanted to know why the boy had run away. What could it be? A scar, maybe? Something that ashamed him and terrified him deeply...

"I said no," Ciel retorted firmly, glaring at him. He was starting to lose his thin patience.

"But…"

"Stay away from me!"

Ciel snapped Sebastian's hand away one more time, but now with even more strength he even hurt himself and his already wounded hand. God, that had been stupid, but if Sebastian was trying to get all touchy... Seriously, was everyone at this circus like that?

Sebastian didn't back away. In fact, that only intrigued him more. He placed his hands on the boxes behind Ciel, trapping him. Oh God, he was too close, and Ciel hated closeness, yet he couldn't sneak away...

Still, what made him froze wasn't that, but the next words that spilled from Sebastian's mouth in a whisper dripping suspicion.

"What are you hiding?"

Before Ciel could do or say anything else, Sebastian was already putting him against the boxes and taking his shirt in his hands. Ciel gasped with fear and he jerked, trying to get Sebastian off him, but his grip on him was too strong. Ciel shut his eyes and tried to breathe, this couldn't be that bad, could it? This man… He wasn't like _them_, he wouldn't harm him, he _couldn't_…

The hand keeping him against the boxes fell off all of a sudden, and his shirt was also let go of. Sebastian didn't make a sound, but it was obvious he was shocked. It was like a bucket of cold water had washed over him, which actually was possible —the showers. But there was no real water, just a growing sense of dread and a sickening churning of his stomach as he observed the slave mark that rested on Ciel's back.

He wanted to vomit.

It wasn't the mark itself what had suddenly made him so sick, but his own stupidity. This was a child that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he was marked, yet he was still alive, which meant that he'd belonged to someone else but had escaped anyway.

Who else could it be, but Ciel Phantomhive himself?

Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel Phantomhive and his friends had been standing under their noses and nobody had realized until now! Well, it wasn't like there was much to see at the circus —but still, they had to be careful, now more than ever. Wasn't that what Sebastian was always telling them? Wasn't that what he was always preparing for? And yet, here they were...

The last of the Phantomhives, that damned family that had broken him and caused part of the trauma that tormented him every night. One of the many reasons why Sebastian hated himself, hated his life but at the same time, the piece that could be his key to finally be free...

This boy, he had to be mocking him, but no, Sebastian wouldn't let him do it anymore. He was still a Michaelis deep down and he still carried their pride, running through his veins, burning like fire...

This boy had to die. Everyone that had once fooled him had to die!

"It's hideous, isn't it?" Ciel said after a while in a low, ashamed voice; his back still facing Sebastian. The sound of his voice startled the other male who was lost in his thoughts.

"It really is," he agreed, not bothering to hide his repulsion. Whilst Ciel had been expecting for a more notorious reaction, it was clear that seeing the mark made Sebastian upset. Sebastian, the man who always seemed confident and cool…

"What's the matter?" Ciel said with spite, finally turning to meet him. The color had drained from Sebastian's face and he looked aghast, but his eyes were indecipherable. "Is it too much for y—?"

"I gotta go. I've got work to do." The older male cut off. It was then when Ciel realized that there was not only shock, but some other intense emotion in Sebastian's vermillion eyes, but he couldn't place it. Was it anger, perhaps? But why would he be angry? That made no sense. And yet…

Ciel didn't like the feeling of that intense stare.

"O-Okay," he stammered anxiously as Sebastian turned his back on him and left. Ciel stood there, playing over and over the little moment to try to figure out what could Sebastian possibly be thinking, but he didn't know the man well enough to be able to read him. And why would he be angry? The one who should be angry was Ciel, for he'd been the one forced to show his mark, forced to be touched…

A shiver ran down his spine. _Calm down, it's already over…_

Ciel glared at the man's silhouette, because nobody treated The Queen's Watchdog like that. And no matter what, he'd discover what this man was hiding too, and then he'll humiliate him, and _destroy_ him…

"That fucking weirdo," Ciel mumbled through clenched teeth.

* * *

Every kind of things and clothes flew across the tent as the consequence of the frenzy of a desperate man. Sebastian tossed everything he saw in the chest of his austere room, searching wildly for something as well as trying to vent out the anger consuming him and filling every space of his mind.

It had to be here...

When did he acquire so many things, anyway? Just a few books he'd had the chance to buy again, clothes and shoes and photos he did not like but couldn't throw away, so he just kept them there, in the bottom of the chest. But where was...

His fingers touched something cold and his features drew an evil expression. Eureka.

He pulled the gun out of the chest and watched it in awe. Fine, now he just needed to load it and find that impostor to blow his brains out. And then his friends. It would be easy and quick: Sebastian was skillful and they we're at the circus, which meant that Ciel's team was at a disadvantage for being in the enemy's territory. Joker and the others would probably go mad at him for rushing his decision and not consulting them first, but they would understand after he explained them everything. But now, he got no time to lose.

Then why didn't it sound like a great idea, like it should?

Sebastian placed the gun on the ground. All the fury had now abandoned him. There was a feeling of emptiness in his chest, and he didn't like it.

'Father' wouldn't be happy if Ciel died, but that didn't actually matter to Sebastian. Wasn't this the Queen's Watchdog? The last one of the Phantomhives, the evil nobleman that had to be finished…

And after all, wasn't his situation similar, too? He'd been a child, lost his parents too, and fought against the perversion of this evil world… And here he was now. Still on his feet, still unbeatable. He was a survivor, and Ciel was too. For a minute… For a minute he could see himself in Ciel, he could see the same emotions. The fear, the hatred, but the desire to survive. And who was he, to kill a survivor? Someone like himself, he shouldn't… People like them needed to be together, or at least to understand each other…

And Father… What had he done for him? Sure, he had a place to live now, but in exchange of what? His innocence, his childhood, his very soul…

No, he wouldn't follow his orders anymore. He wouldn't be guilty of the downfall of the last of the Phantomhives. He felt sorry for Joker and the others, but he'd always been alone in the end…

He wouldn't be on Ciel's side, either, but he wasn't going to be involved in this war anymore. Now he was on his side, and his only. It was time for him to start taking his own decisions just like he had always wanted. And perhaps this was a bad decision, letting the enemy live, but it was _his_ and no one could change that. Besides, he didn't think Ciel would get his way so easily. They were as careful as possible not to let other people find out about their secret. Perhaps Ciel would end up dead in the end anyway, but Sebastian had no longer anything to do with it. And if everything suddenly turned threatening for himself, he wouldn't hesitate about killing the brat. But for now, the only thing he could do was keeping an eye close on him.

Sebastian just hoped he'd made the right decision for himself.

* * *

_To be continued..._


End file.
